robconscient
August 29th, 2007, 03:15 AM
Hello.
I'm about to purchase a new desktop computer. I have narrowed the choices down to three, listed below.
I'd really love to get the opinions of forum members, so that I make the best choice possible. :)
The choices are listed in order of price, lowest to highest. I've also listed some pros and cons for each.
Note: Whatever my choice, I have to be able to boot Windows, either as a dual boot or in virtualization. My job requires this. Don't get all crazy on me... I know... Windows stinks, as compared...
Anyway, here goes:
Option 1
Dell XPS 410N
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
24 inch UltraSharp™ 2407FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
128MB nVidia GeForce 8300 GS
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
13 in 1 Media Card Reader
3Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Pros
Cheapest choice
Can run *buntu and multiple versions of Windows
Supports an OEM who is making inroads into desktop Linux
Cons
No FireWire out of the box. will have to add a card (opening the case doesnt void the warranty does it?)
Option 2
Apple iMac
Apple iMac, 24-inch
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
Apple Mighty Mouse
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
iWork '08 preinstalled
Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
Apple Care
Pros
Only choice that can run all three major desktop OS's (Mac, Windows, *nix)
Easily compatible with Apple's multimedia offerings
Hardware is Pretty To Look At
Cons
Only 2 GB of RAM. upgrading is prohibitively expensive (another $700 to go from 2GB to 4GB... i know, WTF?)
Supports proprietary hardware and OS manufacturer
ATI not so supportive of open source
More difficult to get running (*nix) out of the box
Sure to get me flamed by Bryan from the Linux Action Show ;-)
Option 3
System 76 Wild Dog Performance
AMD AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz Dual-Core L2 2 MB
4 GB - 4 x 1 GB - DDR 2 - 800 MHz
256 MB nVidia GeForce 7600 GT PCI-Express x16
400 GB SATA 300Mbps 7200 RPM 16 MB Buffer
Optical Drive CD-RW / DVD-RW
Second Optical Drive CD-RW / DVD-RW (Dual Layer)
Keyboard and Mouse Logitech Internet 350 Desktop
Hardware Warranty 3 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and Technical Support
Pros
Can run *buntu and multiple versions of Windows
Supports an OEM who has been a desktop Linux supporter for some time. The clearest "moral" choice, if there is such a thing here
Cons
Smaller hard drive than other choices (400 vs 500 GB)
AMD Athlon chip - not a con,but I dont know anything about this line of chips. Is it 'better' than the Core 2 Duos?
Most expensive choice
Ugly as sin. Sorry, that's IMHO...
OK, there you have it. Opinions and alternate choices highly coveted. Thank you :)
I'm about to purchase a new desktop computer. I have narrowed the choices down to three, listed below.
I'd really love to get the opinions of forum members, so that I make the best choice possible. :)
The choices are listed in order of price, lowest to highest. I've also listed some pros and cons for each.
Note: Whatever my choice, I have to be able to boot Windows, either as a dual boot or in virtualization. My job requires this. Don't get all crazy on me... I know... Windows stinks, as compared...
Anyway, here goes:
Option 1
Dell XPS 410N
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
24 inch UltraSharp™ 2407FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
128MB nVidia GeForce 8300 GS
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
13 in 1 Media Card Reader
3Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Pros
Cheapest choice
Can run *buntu and multiple versions of Windows
Supports an OEM who is making inroads into desktop Linux
Cons
No FireWire out of the box. will have to add a card (opening the case doesnt void the warranty does it?)
Option 2
Apple iMac
Apple iMac, 24-inch
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
Apple Mighty Mouse
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
iWork '08 preinstalled
Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
Apple Care
Pros
Only choice that can run all three major desktop OS's (Mac, Windows, *nix)
Easily compatible with Apple's multimedia offerings
Hardware is Pretty To Look At
Cons
Only 2 GB of RAM. upgrading is prohibitively expensive (another $700 to go from 2GB to 4GB... i know, WTF?)
Supports proprietary hardware and OS manufacturer
ATI not so supportive of open source
More difficult to get running (*nix) out of the box
Sure to get me flamed by Bryan from the Linux Action Show ;-)
Option 3
System 76 Wild Dog Performance
AMD AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz Dual-Core L2 2 MB
4 GB - 4 x 1 GB - DDR 2 - 800 MHz
256 MB nVidia GeForce 7600 GT PCI-Express x16
400 GB SATA 300Mbps 7200 RPM 16 MB Buffer
Optical Drive CD-RW / DVD-RW
Second Optical Drive CD-RW / DVD-RW (Dual Layer)
Keyboard and Mouse Logitech Internet 350 Desktop
Hardware Warranty 3 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and Technical Support
Pros
Can run *buntu and multiple versions of Windows
Supports an OEM who has been a desktop Linux supporter for some time. The clearest "moral" choice, if there is such a thing here
Cons
Smaller hard drive than other choices (400 vs 500 GB)
AMD Athlon chip - not a con,but I dont know anything about this line of chips. Is it 'better' than the Core 2 Duos?
Most expensive choice
Ugly as sin. Sorry, that's IMHO...
OK, there you have it. Opinions and alternate choices highly coveted. Thank you :)